THE THEORY AND PRACTICE IN

CREATING A STAFFING SCHEDULE

99% of staff schedules are continuations of current customs and practices and are not designed from scratch. The actual method of setting up the next staff roster is one of the most frustrating managerial tasks that has to be done.

24/7 operations Flat workloads Variable Workloads Absence Management Resource Management

Budgeting

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Budgeting is about knowing how much the operation will cost and then sticking to it. We can tell you how many people you will need, what overtime hours will be required and how to manage your resources throughout the year effectively.

Resource

Management

HRM is about managing people to get the best out of them. To do this you need to employ the right people, with the right skills, in the right numbers. We can tell you how many people your operation needs and how to deploy them effectively to maximise their productivity or optimise your operation.

Simultaneously, you need to satisfy; • the needs of the organisation • the quality of service required • the workload on a daily basis • the individual requests of the staff • productivity by giving everyone a job to do • your contractual obligations with the staff There never seems to be a perfect solution, but you know the more time you spend on it, the closer you will get. You also know that the moment it is issued, the staff request changes and then the work changes! Most rotas are still created with a pencil and paper, usually until it becomes almost illegible to everyone, except to you. Typically, it is set up for the week ahead, maybe two weeks, but never for the year ahead which is the most efficient time period to use. Below is a typical example. It has minimal use outside of the week for which it was prepared, but it still took a lot of effort to produce. It has all the information for one week, if only you could read it, and after the week has gone, it might as well be filed away, never to be seen again. If you wish to create shift rosters the traditional way by hand using paper, pencil, eraser and a lot of patience. You will have need to have the basic rules at hand: • Employment law for your country • Government guidelines • Terms and conditions of employment • Maximum hours that can be worked • Legal constraints regarding skill levels on duty • Personal contracts with some staff • Maximum number of consecutive shifts they can work • Weekends worked in the past • Fairness in allocating shifts • Breaks between shifts • Shifts before leave days • Holiday requests that week • Days off requests that week • Availability of Temporary Staff (Bank or Agency) • Overtime: availability of staff and budget • Personality conflicts And then you have the workload to consider! It’s no wonder you feel a sense of great satisfaction each week when you have created a masterpiece of a staff schedule that works. Then next week you do it all over again.